The National Academies' National Research Council has published a 379-page report on trichloroethylene (TCE) link to cancer and other health risks from TCE exposure has strengthened since the 2001 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft risk assessment. Based on information provided by the National Academies, at the time, the EPA was blocked from elevating its assessment of the chemical's risks in people by the Defense Department, Energy Department and NASA, all of which have sites polluted with TCE.
TCE, a solvent used to remove grease from metal parts in airplanes and to clean fuel lines at missile sites is contaminating air, soil, and water at several military installations and hundreds of waste sites around the country.
Until the mid-1970s, it also was used as a surgical anesthetic. TCE can be found in typewriter correction fluid, paint removers, adhesives, and spot removers. According to the report, TCE has also been found at about 60 percent of the nation's worst contaminated sites in the Superfund cleanup program.
The National Academies Press offers Assessing the Human Health Risks of Trichloroethylene: Key Scientific Issues as a 379-page report you can purchase -- read online -- or download as a PDF document here.
Related posts you can find here are: TCE: groundwater contamination in toxic triangle of cancer and Erin Brockovich: talks to homeowners about toxic spill lawsuit.
